Straight Shooter

AMG Review of Straight Shooter

Gautam Baksi
All Music Guide

One year after Bad Company's multi-platinum self-titled debut, the British band returned to London to record a follow-up. Utilizing material written earlier in 1973, vocalist and songwriter Paul Rodgers wrote two acoustic-based ock allads that would live on forever in the annals of great ock history. "Shooting Star" and the Grammy-winning "Feel Like Makin' Love" helped Straight Shooter rise quickly through the charts to reach Billboard's number three spot both in the U.S. and U.K. However, critically and commercially the album never achieved the tremendous success of its predecessor, largely due to the lack of strong follow-up singles and supporting tracks. Simon Kirke stepped out from behind the drum-set to help produce and write "Anna" and "Weep No More," two slower and less aggressive allads indicative of the overall diminishing quality of the album. Following the release of Straight Shooter, Bad Company headlined their first North American tour.